Canada forward Olivia Smith has become the most expensive player in women's soccer history after Arsenal signed her from Liverpool for a reported one million pounds ($A2.1 million).
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
or signup to continue reading
See subscription optionsThe new benchmark would surpass the 900,000 pounds ($A1.9 million) Chelsea paid when signing Naomi Girma from the San Diego Wave in January.
Smith's four-year deal highlights the increase in spending in women's soccer, with transfer records regularly broken.
Zambia striker Rachael Kundananji joined Bay FC from Madrid CFF for a record $US788,000 ($A1.2 million) last year, and that figure was quickly exceeded by Girma's move to Chelsea.
As recently as 2020, the most expensive women's player was Denmark's Pernille Harder, who joined Chelsea from Wolfsburg for $US355,000 ($A549,000).
The 20-year-old Smith has rapidly risen since developing in the US college system.
Smith joined Sporting Clube in Portugal in 2023 and scored 16 goals in 28 appearances in her debut season.
She moved to Liverpool last year and scored nine times in 25 games.
Smith is also Canada's youngest international after making her debut at the age of 15 in 2019.
"Olivia is an exciting young player and we believe she can make a big contribution here at Arsenal," the club's head coach Renee Slegers said on Thursday.
"We've been impressed by her mentality and character, excelling in two European leagues at such a young age."
Arsenal are 15-time English champions and won the Champions League for the second time in their history this year. Three Australians - Steph Catley, Caitlin Foord and Kyra Cooney-Cross - were part of the winning side.
Despite Chelsea being the dominant force in women's soccer in England, Arsenal are the only English team to win the Champions League.
"It's my dream to compete for the biggest titles here in England and in Europe, and I'm excited to get started and contribute to doing that here with Arsenal," Smith said.
Australian Associated Press
